The sky looks down from its perch,
it seems wise and gray.
The earth below observes carefully,
not knowing which emotion is more appropriate, eagerness or fear.
From the distance it hard to comprehend,
will it face the wrath or gentle caressing.
The sky, with its belly bursting,
oscillates between parenthood and headmaster.
With a raised brow it unleashes its fury.
The initial rage is hard to accept,
the pain, the sting, with little pellets attacking.
Soon the anger subsides,
gentle drops kiss earth again.
The love, the affection is overwhelming.
The silver drops of joy encompassing.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Givers
A long long time ago, in a place not to far but still far away, there lived a gentlemen named Mr A. Mr A was the proud owner of a vast piece of barren land. He reared his flock of sheep on this land. The sun shone harshly upon his land, but the moon brought some relief when it rose. There was not enough water to cultivate the land, hence it was predominantly barren apart from a few sparse shrubs. Mr A was content, life was peaceful.
Due to changing economic cycles, Mr A lost money in his other ventures and needed to sell his sheep and land. He easily sold his sheep to a wandering shepherd for a fair price. His barren land however, proved more difficult to sell. He struggled and searched for a suitable buyer, but none offered a fair price for the land. Eventually Mr A met Mr B, an honest and respected gentlemen. Mr B offered a good price for the land and a deal was struck.
Mr. B wanted to use this land to cultivate crops on this land. He realized before buying the land that there was not sufficient water available. He knelt down in prayers and asked the Lord for help. After completing his prayers, he asked his workers to dig at that spot. Hoping for water, his workers find an old chest buried in the ground. Mr B discovers that this chest contains gold.
He immediately goes to Mr. A and says, "I found this chest of gold on your land, and I have come to return it". Mr A is stunned, he never owned a chest of gold. He mulled over the situation for a few seconds, he needed the money, but the gold was not his. Mr A replies in a stoic voice, "The gold does not belong to me, you bought the land and you found it, its yours." Undeterred Mr. B replies," I bought the land, not whats beneath it, please accept the gold." Mr A exclaims, "You bought the land and everything that came with it".
Neither one was willing to keep the gold.
I do not know how the story ends, but I think the message is already evident.
Due to changing economic cycles, Mr A lost money in his other ventures and needed to sell his sheep and land. He easily sold his sheep to a wandering shepherd for a fair price. His barren land however, proved more difficult to sell. He struggled and searched for a suitable buyer, but none offered a fair price for the land. Eventually Mr A met Mr B, an honest and respected gentlemen. Mr B offered a good price for the land and a deal was struck.
Mr. B wanted to use this land to cultivate crops on this land. He realized before buying the land that there was not sufficient water available. He knelt down in prayers and asked the Lord for help. After completing his prayers, he asked his workers to dig at that spot. Hoping for water, his workers find an old chest buried in the ground. Mr B discovers that this chest contains gold.
He immediately goes to Mr. A and says, "I found this chest of gold on your land, and I have come to return it". Mr A is stunned, he never owned a chest of gold. He mulled over the situation for a few seconds, he needed the money, but the gold was not his. Mr A replies in a stoic voice, "The gold does not belong to me, you bought the land and you found it, its yours." Undeterred Mr. B replies," I bought the land, not whats beneath it, please accept the gold." Mr A exclaims, "You bought the land and everything that came with it".
Neither one was willing to keep the gold.
I do not know how the story ends, but I think the message is already evident.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Valuing Ronaldo
The deal has finally been completed. Ronaldo's dream of playing for Real Madrid will finally come true, albeit at a great cost. Real Madrid did not flinch to shell out £80m. The press went crazy, experts gave their two bits, fact sheets were reprinted and the whole circus played out. Obviously Ronaldo made a few wiseacre, 'Im the best' comments to add to the hysteria.
I have often wondered how these clubs assign a value to a player. It is obvious that some players perform better than others, but how much are they really worth. Basic finance has taught me, that the value of an asset is equal to the amount of cash it can generate in the future discounted to its present value.
Lets list the cash flows Ronaldo will generate for Real Madrid.
1. T-shirt sales: At the moment he is arguably the most popular player on the planet (almost in the league of Beckham).
2. T.V. rights: Clubs in Spain negotiate T.V. rights individually. Ronaldo's popularity will give Real more bargaining power.
3. Endorsements: Ronaldo will definitely attract big brands to Madrid.
4. Stadium Receipts: The best players attract larger viewers to the game.
5. Buzz: This is not exactly tangible. But Ronaldo has a habit of shocking. check this (stupid but catches media attention)
I was wondering if you could use some multiples to arrive at a value. Here are some i could think of:
1. Player Value / T-shirts sold
2. Player Value / Goals scored
3. Player Value / Assists
4. Player Value / (Wins/Games started)
I still think its more art than science. Not really sure if the managers actually care about valuations but the finance guys at the clubs surely would.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Destiny ==> Rome
Less than a day before the biggest football night of the year kicks off. The Champions League final will be played in Rome. Two of the best teams competing for, well history actually. Manchester United take on Barcelona in a final between equals, there is truly no favourite.
Its the biggest match in football players life (except maybe a world cup final). The pressure, anxiety, nerves and demons need to be fought. The 'stars' will be expected to dazzle, but its going to be the 'workmen' who deliver.
As is usual in sport, its going to be the 'Reds' against the 'Blues' ( why do all sporting contests have these two colours)
And there are no prizes for guessing my loyalty!!
Victory be ours, its destined..
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Clear Mandate!!
Election 2009 will be remembered for a lot of things, but nobody had predicted the sweeping results. The Congress triumph, the BJP despair, the Left sent right out(pun unappologetically intended), Mayawati has more time to build statues (not in Delhi), Lalu can take a train to Bihar(on the side middle berth), Mulayam and Amar Singh can use the time to update their facebook profile (in English, they have 5 years to learn it). Who would have thought all this was possible. Let me state right at the outset that I have no brilliant insights you wouldn't have read, but I am so excited and that I am compelled to write this post. Thus a summary of events brought out by this election.
The most powerful statement made by voters this time is that extremism will not be tolerated. Extremism of any form, religious, ideological or caste based. Mr. Muthalik, beating women at pubs will get you pink chaddi's but not votes. The fact remains that India is secular not because the minority are secular, but the majority are secular.
My caste my vote; no longer true. People have matured (I hope my inference is correct) and are voting for development and visible economic benefits. Recent assembly polls and the last two national elections seem to reflect this.
Cut the negativity. The Congress party focused on the work that did in the last five years (I'm not getting into whether they actually did anything). While the BJP were harping on the 'Weak PM' line, the outcome indicates Dr Manmohan knocked them out with just one punch.
Humility. Its an under-rated virtue, but it is most appreciated. A host of politicians made arrogant statements, took cheap shots at opponents, trash talked. The endearing humility of the PM stood out and endeared the voters. The message was clear; 'My works speaks for me'.
The clear mandate to the UPA provides them with the opportunity to implement reforms they could not earlier bring about. The pressure is back on the Congress to deliver and validate the voters confidence. This election outcome leaves our country on the threshold to a lot of possibilities, let us achieve all of them.
The most powerful statement made by voters this time is that extremism will not be tolerated. Extremism of any form, religious, ideological or caste based. Mr. Muthalik, beating women at pubs will get you pink chaddi's but not votes. The fact remains that India is secular not because the minority are secular, but the majority are secular.
My caste my vote; no longer true. People have matured (I hope my inference is correct) and are voting for development and visible economic benefits. Recent assembly polls and the last two national elections seem to reflect this.
Cut the negativity. The Congress party focused on the work that did in the last five years (I'm not getting into whether they actually did anything). While the BJP were harping on the 'Weak PM' line, the outcome indicates Dr Manmohan knocked them out with just one punch.
Humility. Its an under-rated virtue, but it is most appreciated. A host of politicians made arrogant statements, took cheap shots at opponents, trash talked. The endearing humility of the PM stood out and endeared the voters. The message was clear; 'My works speaks for me'.
The clear mandate to the UPA provides them with the opportunity to implement reforms they could not earlier bring about. The pressure is back on the Congress to deliver and validate the voters confidence. This election outcome leaves our country on the threshold to a lot of possibilities, let us achieve all of them.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Colour Obsession
As a nation we are obsessed with fair skin. No this post is not another rant about our hypocritical view on skin tone. I am also not going to debate on the ethical stand point of fairness cream advertisements as well. This is more like a journey through our collective past, which I think shaped our mindset.
If we look back at our history and ponder over the last five hundred years and examine our rulers. First we had the Mughals of Persian-Afghan descent. Then for over a century we were ruled by the British. This era had a significant impact on our psyche. As the skin tone of our masters became fairer, our fear of the colour increased. We are victims of our past. I don't blame anyone, after all the British did dominate our existence rather brutally. And when they left our shores the fear, shock, awe,respect turned to love for fair skin. I wonder if our attitude would have totally opposite if we were ruled by a darker skinned race?
As we complete almost 61 years of independence, we are breaking the shackles. We are more confident in all aspects of life, acquiring businesses, leading innovation and driving growth (No this is not part of the India Shining campaign). The fear has reduced but it has not been replaced with equality in our minds.
You can't really blame the advertising guys behind the fairness cream ads, they are just taking advantage of a dominant prejudice (though the underlying concept still rankles me).
P.S - There is no anger directed at anybody.
If we look back at our history and ponder over the last five hundred years and examine our rulers. First we had the Mughals of Persian-Afghan descent. Then for over a century we were ruled by the British. This era had a significant impact on our psyche. As the skin tone of our masters became fairer, our fear of the colour increased. We are victims of our past. I don't blame anyone, after all the British did dominate our existence rather brutally. And when they left our shores the fear, shock, awe,respect turned to love for fair skin. I wonder if our attitude would have totally opposite if we were ruled by a darker skinned race?
As we complete almost 61 years of independence, we are breaking the shackles. We are more confident in all aspects of life, acquiring businesses, leading innovation and driving growth (No this is not part of the India Shining campaign). The fear has reduced but it has not been replaced with equality in our minds.
You can't really blame the advertising guys behind the fairness cream ads, they are just taking advantage of a dominant prejudice (though the underlying concept still rankles me).
P.S - There is no anger directed at anybody.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Poll Commentary
The great dance of the Indian democracy is drawing to its climax. The general elections are always exciting and full of drama. This time was no different, the incessant mud slinging, changing partners and meaningless cacophony littered among some important issues. The election process ends mid may.
I voted; but where was the rest of Mumbai? It is appalling that only 44% of the electorate exercised their vote. This is not very different from the last time, but the environment has changed dramatically. Mumbai was hit badly and one expected a stronger reaction from the citizens. A lot of anger was vent during the rally at Gateway post the terrorist attack, but heck the attitude has not changed. It makes me wonder that if this does not change us, then what will?
We face adversary with our chin up, but we missed an opportunity to be the change. No matter what the reason for not voting, the black dot on the finger is far more important.
I voted; but where was the rest of Mumbai? It is appalling that only 44% of the electorate exercised their vote. This is not very different from the last time, but the environment has changed dramatically. Mumbai was hit badly and one expected a stronger reaction from the citizens. A lot of anger was vent during the rally at Gateway post the terrorist attack, but heck the attitude has not changed. It makes me wonder that if this does not change us, then what will?
We face adversary with our chin up, but we missed an opportunity to be the change. No matter what the reason for not voting, the black dot on the finger is far more important.
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